’ello folks,

This afternoon we were met by the most amazing cloud formation. It was a straight wall of cloud, as far as the eye could see, barrelling towards us, literally rolling in. And as it hit, there was a 180 degree shift in the wind. Then two lesser cloud formations of the same shape passed over. It was truly a sight I shall never forget; Hugo caught the whole thing on time lapse and it’s definitely worth a watch.

And now onto this evening.

Aaaahhhhh! We are currently languishing in no breeze, surrounded by lightning strikes as they light up the night sky, giving us a glimpse of the squalls that surround us. I’m worried to get a kite up in case a squall hits and tears it in two, and our damage report for this race so far consists of one broken stanchion base which I think isn’t too bad for 5,000ish nautical miles. So unfortunately guys, I have now been staring at this screen now for 15 minutes with writer's block, contemplating weather, our best route, our competitors’ routes, and I can hear the crew trying everything that they can to make this boat go faster.

I also hear the deafening flog of the Main, the primary winches and the main winch above my head. All seem to be being ground and eased at the same time, so sorry, this may be my last blog for this race. If it’s not, then I will try and write a better and longer and more descriptive one. But it will mean we are all a bit down, to come so close but still have further to go. And if you don’t hear from me in the next week or so, it means we are busy squirreling away, getting our little floating home ready for Leg 2.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these blogs, I have for the most part enjoyed typing them. It’s a nice way to finish each day and have a little reflection and give my crew an insight to what’s going on in my head. I have already asked the Race Office if they keep all the blogs on file, so I hope some time in the distant future that I can read them back with fondness. But for now, it doesn't matter if there is 150 ‘nautical miles to the finish or 1,500 nautical miles, we still have to get over that line. So till next time, Josh and the crew of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, OUT.

P.S Hatch open!

P.P.S I’m late sending the blog, just been of foredeck and my hunch is that I’ll be writing another blog tomorrow :)